Md. Cornelius et al., A COMPARISON OF PRENATAL DRINKING IN 2 RECENT SAMPLES OF ADOLESCENTS AND ADULTS, Journal of studies on alcohol, 55(4), 1994, pp. 412-419
The drinking patterns of 124 pregnant teenagers are described and comp
ared with those of 267 pregnant adults attending the same prenatal cli
nic in Pittsburgh. Adults had a significantly higher average daily vol
ume of alcohol prior to pregnancy than adolescents, but that higher le
vel was no longer significant during pregnancy. However, the rate of b
inge drinking during the first trimester was higher in the teenage sam
ple than in the adult sample. Rates of binge drinking and heavy drinki
ng were highest among the white teenage group. Use of marijuana and co
caine/crack decreased precipitously during pregnancy for both teenager
s and adults. Tobacco use also decreased among the adults, but increas
ed from 56% to 71% during pregnancy in the teenage sample. Based on ou
r findings, patterns of drinking among adult pregnant women do not gen
eralize to pregnant adolescents. Offspring of white adolescents, in pa
rticular, may be at higher risk for intermittent high peak alcohol exp
osure farther into the pregnancy than are offspring of older women.